President Joe Biden admitted to making a "mistake" in his debate against former President Donald Trump in a new interview.
Biden has faced calls to withdraw from the presidential election from some Democrats following the debate, in which he sounded hoarse and appeared to mumble through several answers, doing little to quell concerns among some voters about his age.
In a new interview with Milwaukee radio host Earl Ingram, Biden said he "didn't have a good debate" but that he is "going to win this election," according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"I had a bad night. And the fact of the matter is that I screwed up. I made a mistake," he said.
The Context
Prior to the debate, polls showed that age was a key concern among voters for Biden, who is 81. Following the debate, some Democrats, including two members of Congress, have said he should step aside from the race and allow another Democrat to become the nominee. Biden has resisted calls to step down.
The Biden campaign has said Biden had a cold during the debate, and some medical experts have cautioned that his debate performance is not necessarily indicative of cognitive decline.
Newsweek has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.
What We Know
Biden addressed these concerns during the interview on Thursday. The remarks are among some of his first public comments since the debate and come a week later, despite calls from some Democrats for him to do more unscripted public appearances to dispel age concerns.
"That's 90 minutes on stage. Look at what I've done in 3.5 years," he said, according to the Journal Sentinel.
He said he is "proud to be running for reelection as a president that has made his promises—and I've kept them," touting his administration's efforts to lower the prices of prescription drugs and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wisconsin is a key battleground state in the November election, and polls have shown Biden and Trump nearly tied in the state, which is crucial to either a Biden or Trump victory.
Views
Representative Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat, is among those who have urged Biden to withdraw.
"President Biden has continued to run substantially behind Democratic senators in key states and in most polls has trailed Donald Trump. I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum to change that. It did not. Instead of reassuring voters, the President failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump's many lies," he wrote in a statement.
Other Democrats, however, have rejected calls for him to step down.
"I heard three words from the President tonight -- he's all in. And so am I. @JoeBiden's had our back. Now it's time to have his," California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has often been named as a potential replacement, posted to X.
What's Next
It remains unclear how much damage Biden's debate performance caused. While Democrats have panicked about Biden's performance, polls have been mixed. Some show Trump gaining ground against Biden, but others show minimal changes.
As Biden seeks to squash concerns about his age from his own party, the White House on Tuesday said Biden would speak with congressional leaders later this week, give an interview to ABC's George Stephanopoulos, and hold a press conference in the coming days.
Update 7/4/2024 11:31 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more
